Have you had a bad experience trying to adopt a dog?

Question

If so, please explain briefly the story and what you did.

Answer 1

I lost my dog and was devastated. When I felt it was time to get another I went to the pound regularly. No dogs appealed to me for weeks. One day I went in there was the cutest miniature Schnauzer! He was handsome and well behaved. We took him into the yard at the pound to get to know him. He was perfect. My husband and I decided to add him to our family it was the first time I felt happy since I had lost my previous dog. Suddenly this woman comes running out and grabs the dog. She tells me she had picked him out earlier that day and went home to get money. The people at the pound were suppose to put him on hold for her. It was horrible. I just dropped the lead and walked away I wasn't going to argue about it but I was really disappointed.

Answer 2

Nope, my experience adopting has been wonderful.

Some people say you never know what you get when you adopt.
Many dogs in rescue groups are actually fostered in homes with people, and they can tell you about the behavior and temperament of the dog.
When you buy a puppy from a petstore, you REALLY have NO idea what you are going to get. You don't see the parents, and the puppy probably came from a puppy mill, where dogs are bred to the point of exhaustion, and they don't properly care for the animals, and many die as puppies. You don't even get to learn the medical history of these puppies, and the parents most likely haven't been tested to see if they carry traits for certain genetic problems.
People are too quick to turn against adopting because they have had or have heard of a problem with an adopted dog.
Buying a puppy from a petstore is not like buying clothes or a car! Just because it has not been owned before does NOT mean that there will be nothing wrong with it!!!!

Answer 3

I feel for all that have had a bad experience at a shelter or rescue. Let me start by saying that I am the assistant manager at the local humane society in my town. We are a fairly small Non-Profit NO-KILL shelter. I have been with this place since 1996. at which time I was a Kennel worker.

I don't want to make excuses for others "poor behavior skills" and lack of customer service, however, understand if you will...the amount of irresponsible, pushing, vulgar and down right nasty people we have to deal with every single day. And yes, I realize this is true in most all jobs...but not all jobs have that nasty irate person using a helpless, scared animal as a tool.
Not all jobs allow you to care for something that truely needs you...and be so emotional when it finds, what was thought to be a great home with knowledge, expericance and the time for it...only to have the same dog returned 6-8 months later... by people that clearly did not do has they said and have now turned a highly adoptable puppy...into a strung out, wond for sound hypher dog with NO basic training or social skills to speak of.

So...please, forgive those of us that may have made your experience a bad one. As I said, this is not an excuse for the bad customer service...just a glimpse into the roots of it.

I hope you won't bann shelters and rescue's for any future pets... Regardless of the negitivity you feel about them...the animals still need homes.

Thank

Answer 4

Only one bad experience out of 11 adopted dogs. She was an approx 11 month old ridgeback cross pitbull terrier. Had her for about 3 months when one day out of the blue she attacked our other dog. We took her that day and had her put down. She had been abandoned and found on a friends farm thats all we know of her background. She was fantastic with the cats and to this day l still dont know why she did it other than jealousy over me. As far as the rest go l recommend to anyone to adopt a dog. If everyone adopted a dog from a shelter then there would be no need for puppy farms. Good Luck

Answer 5

Let's see...I have adopted five dogs from shelters. Each time, I had issues with health and behavior to deal with. I handled the health issues, handled the behavior issues, and when I start looking for another dog for my pack, I will once again go to a shelter. Every one of my rescue dogs has been a joy in my life. I don't really care what questions they ask, and I also don't care that the dogs had issues (who wouldn't if they had a life like these poor animals?).
The biggest thing to remember here, is good experience or bad, when you adopt from a shelter you are saving a life.

I volunteer for rescue now, and I ask really stern questions of potential adopters, as well. I don't think I would consider giving one of my foster dogs to a person on a busy street, either. It would break my heart if I did and something bad happened.
Even though it's tough to say no to someone, we always have to have the dog's best interests at heart. There is a reason all these poor dogs are in shelters, after all.

Answer 6

Yes- We had gotten a boxer puppy and she needed a friend we contacted the local boxer rescue. Filled out all the paperwork. And we waited and waited and waited. I looked at the website and found a caveat that said if you don't hear from us in 10 days you have wasted our time and yours. Nice huh? My husband and I have own dogs our entire life. We wanted to help a dog get a good life. The rescue people for some reason unknown to us decided we were unfit parents. Oh well there loss.
We went to a farm and picked out our boy. Spent less than the adoption fees and got a great dog. Our gain and their loss. Who knew that adopting a dog was going to be as difficult as adopting a child. But we didn't get to the home visit part. I don't talk highly of this rescue organization and have heard that others have had the same experience.

Answer 7

I also do dog rescue, and I foster when I can, I've adopted both my rottie boys and they are the best companions I could ask for. For those who have been turned down by a rescue, please remember, most reputable rescue organizations, only have the dogs best welfare in mind, AND that the cost of saving these dogs is not supported in ANY way other than by adoption fees & donations. We are all volunteers, just trying to help. Some of the poor dogs that we can help come in with serious medical issues that are expensive to treat. Help at a shelter if you can, and please don't buy from a pet store or a BYB, especially when there are wonderful dogs at shelters.

Answer 8

My husband and I were looking for our first puppy. We had just bought our first house and thought it would be a good way to start our family off. We had our hearts set on a lab. It was really difficult to find a puppy. Finally, I found 2! I did all of the paperwork (like 10 pages!), drove 2 hours to get it, and they wouldn't let me get them! Since I lived on a busy road, but have a fenced in back yard, and had cats, they wouldn't allow it! I was so mad. Why is it so difficult to adopt a dog now?
We did eventually get our puppy, however, the place was not very clean or anything. The shelter was ran down and what we were told was a lab, ended up being a beagle/daschund instead. No big deal, we still love her the same, but I will never go back to the shelter again. I've seriously thought about reporting it. It's a county shelter!

Answer 9

I have had problems adopting two different dogs from dog rescue organizations. One of the questions they always ask is, "Have you owned a dog before and if so, what happened to it?" Eight years ago, I went out of town for work. While I was out of town, my dad watched my dogs and during the time when he was watching my dogs, one of them was hit and killed on the road. So, when the dog rescue folks would ask me that question, I would tell them that my story. When I would say that my previous dog had been hit on the road, I was pretty much instantly "black-balled" and they wouldn't let me adopt any.

My solution was, I used petfinder, located a dog I liked (who was in the care of a different dog rescue group), and when I found out he would be at a dog adoption event, I went there with my 14 year old Golden Retriever - who had his displaysia. When they saw me with my Golden who couldn't walk, the dog rescue folks were willing to give me every dog they had. Best wishes.

Answer 10

Nope- I went to the shelter. I asked if I could take my dog out and play to see if we connected. he said he had to go on a call and the shelter was going to close- I could come back later. I told him I had biked out (it's 5 miles out of town) and by the time I biked back and forth he'd be back again so I would just wait outside for him to come back. He postponed going and let me play with Kennedy. I decided after about 15 minutes that he was the one. I biked back into town got money, a collar, a leash, and a nylabone. Biked back. Then Kennedy and I played outside for another hour until the shelter was closing- then the worker gave us a ride back into town with my bike in the back. Really nice guy. Our shelter is underfunded, undrstaffed (2 people), and crowded -but the man said to me "Hey I'd rather wait a couple minutes to go get the other dog if it means that one of these guys might get a home"